AI Strategic Development Lead

About Cantina:

Cantina Labs is a social AI company, developing a suite of advanced real-time models that push the boundaries of expression, personality, and realism. We bring characters to life, transforming how people tell stories, connect, and create. We build and power ecosystems. Cantina, our flagship social AI platform, is just the beginning.

If you're excited about the potential AI has to shape human creativity and social interactions, join us in building the future!

About The Role:

We're seeking a highly connected AI Strategic Development Lead to leverage your established network of AI industry leaders and continuously expand it. Your mission: identify cutting-edge technology, teams, and talent that can accelerate Cantina's growth—whether through knowledge sharing, strategic partnerships, or acquisition opportunities.

This isn't a desk research role. You'll be our eyes and ears in the Silicon Valley (& beyond) AI community, using your technical fluency and deep relationships to surface opportunities that don't show up on LinkedIn or Crunchbase. You thrive at the intersection of technology and relationships, translating what you learn in private conversations and invitation-only events into strategic insights for our executive team.

As a key member of our small, bi-coastal team, you'll work directly with company leadership — presenting your findings and shaping our AI strategy. Your success will be measured by the strength of your network, the quality of your insights, and your ability to connect Cantina with exceptional people and teams.

What You'll Do:

• Network and Discover:

  • Leverage and expand your existing relationships within the Silicon Valley (and beyond) AI ecosystem through regular presence at demo days, meetups, private events, salons, conferences, and other networking events

  • Build authentic relationships with founders, engineers, researchers, operators, and investors in generative AI and adjacent fields

  • Represent Cantina in the community with genuine enthusiasm that naturally translates into strong advocacy

• Evaluate and Synthesize:

  • Apply your technical background to assess the value proposition of emerging companies and teams across our key investment areas

  • Track emerging technical concepts, research directions, and ecosystem trends—including notable talent movements

  • Surface ideas and opportunities that excite you and could meaningfully shape Cantina's strategy

• Connect and Execute:

  • Serve as the bridge between the AI community and Cantina, making strategic introductions at the right moments

  • Cultivate relationships with high-quality technical talent and teams, building business cases for potential acquisition opportunities

  • Partner with leadership on strategic talent and partnership initiatives

  • Travel up to 30% of the time

What You'll Bring:

• An established network in the Silicon Valley AI and tech ecosystems

• 5+ years in cutting-edge technology with recent hands-on experience in generative AI

• A Computer Science degree or equivalent technical fluency -- you can evaluate architectures and research directions at a high level

• Experience working with or at VC firms (a plus)

• Genuine passion for the consumer AI social media space

• The ability to evangelize Cantina—getting a room excited about where we're going

• A commitment to constantly learning about new models, tools, startups, and approaches

• Energy for meeting people, cultivating relationships, and building business cases around acquisitions

• Comfort operating autonomously and shaping this high-ownership role through initiative

• The ability to deeply understand our AI-driven product roadmaps

• Strong communication skills with natural credibility among technical audiences

• The ability to translate community insights into actionable strategic recommendations

Compensation:

The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is between $200,000-$250,000. This role will also offer a substantial cash bonus and company equity. When determining compensation, a number of factors will be considered, including skills, experience, job scope, location, and competitive compensation market data.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and generous company equity

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance – 99.99% of premiums covered by Cantina

• 42 days of paid time off, including:

  • 15 PTO days

  • 10 sick days

  • 15 company holidays

  • 2 floating holidays

• Generous parental leave & fertility support

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Lifestyle spending account – $500/month to use however you’d like

• Complimentary lunch and snacks for in-office employees

• One Medical membership, and more!